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Augustana vs. North Park Preview

Sophomore free saftey Bo Goshorn returns an interception in last week's 24-14 Homecoming win over Millikin. The Vikings go on the road to face North Park this Saturday.

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Behind a stout defensive effort and a pair of clock-eating second half drives, Augustana rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit this past Saturday to defeat Millikin 24-14 on Homecoming at Ericson Field. Now 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the CCIW, coach Rob Cushman's Vikings will try to make it two in a row this Saturday when they travel to North Park for a 1:00 p.m. contest.

Midway through the first quarter of Saturday's Homecoming contest, the visitors had a 14-0 lead and were looking at a short field with a chance to go up three scores. However, a bad handoff resulted in a Sean McIntyre (Genoa-Kingston HS, Genoa, Ill.) fumble recovery, which turned the tide in Augustana's favor. The Vikings cut the lead in half with a 21-yard Eric Chandler (Cary-Grove HS, Cary, Ill.) to Torre Harrell (Bloomington HS, Bloomington, Ill.) halfback option pass and when freshman defensive end Brandon Stiers scooped up a botched Big Blue punt and returned it 32 yards for the tying score, the momentum had shifted completely to the home team's side. A 20-yard Brady Rogers (Cherokee Trail HS, Parker, Colo.) field goalgave Augustana a 17-14 halftime lead.

The second half was punctuated by two tremendous fourth-down stops by the defense and an amazing 23-play, 87-yard touchdown drive which ate 13:26 off the clock and gave Augustana a two-score lead. The Viking defense allowed just 50 total yards and three first downs in the second half and the offense controlled the ball for 22:19 of the 30 minutes.

Augustana will be facing a North Park team that's currently 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the league. Quarterback Tyler Krebs, who leads the team's triple-option attack, has missed the past two games with injuries. He is the team's leading rusher with 398 yards and three touchdowns on 71 carries and has completed 27 of 47 (57.4 percent) pass attempts for 336 yards and six touchdowns with three interceptions. Fullback Matt Hassan, a second team All-CCIW pick a year ago, has rushed for 295 yards and two touchdowns on 75 carries and slot back Chris Broadway averages over seven yards per carry.

The North Park defense has allowed 37.7 points and 420.5 total yards per game. Opponents are averaging 208.5 rushing yards per contest and 5.7 per carry and have completed 62.6 percent of their pass attempts for an average of 212.0 yards per game. Safety Andrew Saltzman was a second team All-CCIW pick in 2011.

Chandler and senior Brett McWilliams have been an effective duo at halfback for Augustana. Chandler leads the team with 350 yards on 57 carries (6.1 per carry) and McWilliams is right behind with 341 on 42 carries (8.1 per attempt). Each has scored two touchdowns. Welch has completed 65 of 115 pass attempts (56.5 percent) for 885 yards and six touchdowns. He's been intercepted five times. Junior Nick Krantz (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) is the team's top receiver with 18 catches for 329 yards (18.3 per reception) and two scores.

Augustana has dominated this series between the two teams in the CCIW who share the Vikings nickname... Augustana leads 48-2 and has never lost a game to North Park in Rock Island with that streak now at 26... Augustana has won 40 straight overall in this series since a 23-12 North Park victory in 1971.

YEAR

SCORE(Running Record)

SITE

YEAR

SCORE(Running Record)

SITE

1962

AUG 22, NP 6 (1-0)

Home

1987

AUG 69, NP 0 (24-2)

Away

1963

AUG 26, NP 0 (2-0)

Away

1988

AUG 27, NP 0 (25-2)

Home

1964

AUG 45, NP 0 (3-0)

Home

1989

AUG 48, NP 7 (26-2)

Away

1965

AUG 20, NP 14 (4-0)

Home

1990

AUG 43, NP 0 (27-2)

Home

1966

AUG 19, NP 0 (5-0)

Away

1991

AUG 41, NP 0 (28-2)

Away

1967

AUG 13, NP 10 (6-0)

Home

1992

AUG 35, NP 10 (29-2)

Home

1968

NP 48, AUG 42 (6-1)

Away

1993

AUG 21, NP 17 (30-2)

Away

1969

AUG 20, NP 2 (7-1)

Away

1994

AUG 48, NP 6 (31-2)

Home

1970

AUG 38, NP 6 (8-1)

Home

1995

AUG 53, NP 14 (32-2)

Away

1971

NP 23, AUG 12 ( 8-2)

Away

1996

AUG 52, NP 0 (33-2)

Home

1972

AUG 21, NP 12 (9-2)

Home

1997

AUG 28, NP 3 (34-2)

Away

1973

AUG 21, NP 14 (10-2)

Away

1998

AUG 41, NP 0 (35-2)

Home

1974

AUG 38, NP 12 (11-2)

Home

1999

AUG 30, NP 13 (36-2)

Away

1975

AUG 20, NP 12 (12-2)

Away

2000

AUG 36, NP 14 (37-2)

Away

1976

AUG 27, NP 7 (13-2)

Home

2001

AUG 23, NP 0 (38-2)

Home

1977

AUG 24, NP 0 (14-2)

Away

2002

AUG 58, NP 8 (39-2)

Away

1978

AUG 34, NP 14 (15-2)

Home

2003

AUG 48, NP 17 (40-2)

Home

1979

AUG 19, NP 12 (16-2)

Away

2004

AUG 42, NP 10 (41-2)

Away

1980

AUG 23, NP 10 (17-2)

Home

2005

AUG 50, NP 6 (42-2)

Home

1981

AUG 38, NP 6 (18-2)

Away

2006

AUG 31, NP 0 (43-2)

Home

1982

AUG 35, NP 6 (19-2)

Home

2007

AUG 35, NP 0 (44-2)

Away

1983

AUG 35, NP 16 (20-2)

Away

2008

AUG 52, NP 0 (45-2)

Home

1984

AUG 47, NP 6 (21-2)

Home

2009

AUG 42, NP 14 (46-2)

Away

1985

AUG 21, NP 7 (22-2)

Away

2010

AUG 21, NP 0 (47-2)

Away

1986

AUG 55, NP 7 (23-2)

Home

2011

AUG 27, NP 24 (48-2)

Home

LAST YEAR...

10/22/11-AUGUSTANA 27, NORTH PARK 24

Augustana wins second in a row 27-24 over NPU

ROCK ISLAND, Ill.-A pair of long David Lee (Springfield HS, Springfield, Ill.)touchdown passes less than five minutes apart in the second half spelled the difference Saturday as Augustana came away with a 27-24 Homecoming win over North Park at Ericson Field. With the win, the Vikings improve to 2-5 on the year and 2-2 in the CCIW, while North Park falls to 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the conference.

With 3:30 left in the third quarter and Augustana trailing 17-14 and facing a third-and-four at its own 39-yard line, Lee connected over the middle with tight end Keith Abbey (Rich East HS, Park Forest, Ill.), who crossed the field and outran the North Park secondary down the sideline for a 61-yard touchdown. A missed extra point left the score at 20-17.

Augustana stopped North Park on the next series, but gave the visitors another chance with a roughing the kicker penalty. The call was one of eight for 85 yards against the hosts on the day. The defense came through and stopped North Park again and Augustana took over at its own 20 following a punt. From there, it took Lee just one play to find Nick Krantz (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) along the south sideline. Krantz made a nice adjustment on the catch and outran the defender for an 80-yard touchdown and a 27-17 lead.

After a scoreless first quarter, Augustana got on the board first when Eric Chandler (Cary-Grove HS, Cary, Ill.) fought his way into the end zone from five yards out on the second play of the second period. Chandler's run capped a 12-play, 80-yard march. The visitors answered with a 13-play, 77-yard drive of their own, finished off with a one-yard Drew Walkington touchdown run.

The hosts went 61 yards in seven plays on their next possession to retake the lead 14-7. The drive was kept alive by a fake field goal on fourth-and-three from the North Park 16-yard line. Freshman placekicker Brady Rogers (Cherokee Trail HS, Aurora, Colo.) took a pitch from holder Danny Hess (Naperville North HS, Naperville, Ill.) and got around left end for a gain of nine yards and a first down. Lee scrambled seven yards for the go ahead touchdown two plays later.

Not to be outdone, North Park again responded, this time going 76 yard on nine plays for the tying score. Quarterback Tyler Krebs found receiver De' Marien Hampton in the right corner of the end zone with a 37-yard touchdown heave with 32 seconds remaining until halftime.

After Augustana misplayed the second half kickoff and went three-and-out deep in its own territory, the visitors took over at the Augustana 49-yard line following the punt. From there, they put together their third straight scoring drive, going 42 yards on 14 plays over eight minutes and taking a 17-14 lead on a 24-yard Tony Kebede field goal. Lee connected with Abbey to regain the lead for the hosts just three plays later.

The visitors had one last gasp, narrowing the lead to 27-24 with 1:21 left in the game. Flanker Sam Cochiaro took a pitch on a reverse and found Hampton in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass. That play capped a 72-yard, nine-play drive. The hosts sealed it however, when Zachary McCullough (St. Charles North HS, St. Charles, Ill.) corralled Bryn Nottoli's onside kick attempt and Lee was able to take a knee twice to end the game.

Lee finished the day 10 of 13 for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Krantz was his most frequent target, with three catches for 96 yards including the 80-yarder. The Viking running game produced 169 yards on 29 carries, spread among nine ball carriers. Freshman Antonio Owens (Naperville North HS, Naperville, Ill.) led the way with 51 yards on four carries and A.J. Hoger (Cary-Grove HS, Cary, Ill.)added 49 on four carries.

Linebacker Erik Westerberg (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) added 14 tackles, including 13 of the solo variety, to his league-leading totals. Defensive end Luke Anderson (Lemont HS, Lemont, Ill.) had eight stops and Sean Walker (Annawan HS, Annawan, Ill.) came up with a big interception and batted away another pass in the end zone.

The Vikings will attempt to extend their winning streak when they go on the road to Wheaton, Illinois to face the Wheaton Thunder on Saturday, October 29 at 1:00 p.m.

2012 AUGUSTANA VIKINGS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE/RESULTS

DATE

OPPONENT

SITE

SCORE/TIME

September 1

Dubuque

Dubuque, Iowa

L, 21-39

September 8

Central of Iowa

Pella, Iowa

L, 10-17

September 15

Loras (Family Weekend)

HOME

W, 34-10

September 29

*Wheaton

HOME

L, 7-49

October 6

*Elmhurst

Elmhurst, Illinois

L, 27-31

October 13

*Millikin (Homecoming)

HOME

W, 24-14

October 20

*North Park

Chicago, Illinois

1:00 p.m.

October 27

*Carthage

HOME

1:00 p.m.

November 3

*Illinois Wesleyan

Bloomington, Illinois

1:00 p.m.

November 10

*North Central

HOME

1:00 p.m.

* - College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin game

2012 CCIW STANDINGS

School

CCIW

Overall

Illinois Wesleyan

3-0

6-0

North Central

3-0

5-1

Elmhurst

2-1

5-1

Wheaton

2-1

4-2

Carthage

1-2

3-3

AUGUSTANA

1-2

2-4

Millikin

0-3

3-3

North Park

0-3

1-5

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

October 13

AUGUSTANA 24, Millikin 14

North Central 58, North Park 17

Illinois Wesleyan 45, Carthage 7

Elmhurst 35, Wheaton 30

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

October 20

AUGUSTANA at North Park, 1:00 p.m.

Elmhurst at Millikin, 1:00 p.m.

Illinois Wesleyan at Wheaton 6:00 p.m.

North Central at Carthage, 6:00 p.m.

HEAD COACH ROB CUSHMAN

Rob Cushman is in his second season as the head coach of the Augustana football program. He has spent the 2008-10 seasons serving as the Viking defensive coordinator. His coaching career began at Cal State-Chico in 1979. His first head coaching position was at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon, where he spent five seasons before being named the first head coach at Feather River College in Quincy, California in 2002. He led the fledgling program to a 34-21 (.618) record in five seasons, reaching a post-season bowl game each year. He served as special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York in 2007, prior to coming to Augustana.

CUSHMAN'S RECORD AS HEAD COACH

OVERALL CONFERENCE

YEAR

WON

LOSS

PCT

WON

LOSS

PCT

SCHOOL

1997

4

6

.400

Eastern Oregon

1998

6

4

.600

Eastern Oregon

1999

5

5

.500

Eastern Oregon

2000

2

8

.200

Eastern Oregon

2001

1

8

.111

Eastern Oregon

Eastern Oregon Totals

18

31

.367

2002

6

5

.545

Feather River

2003

9

2

.818

Feather River

2004

6

5

.545

Feather River

2005

7

4

.636

Feather River

2006

6

5

.545

Feather River

Feather River Totals

34

21

.618

College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin

2011

2

8

.200

2

5

.286

Augustana

2012

2

4

.333

1

2

.333

Augustana

Augustana Totals

4

12

.250

3

7

.300

CAREER

56

64

.467

ROB CUSHMAN BY THE NUMBERS: Hereis a closer look at Rob Cushman's record at Augustana College.